Decolonized Consulting Services

Traditional Land Use/Indigenous Knowledge Studies & Cultural Heritage

From study design to completion, our skillset includes all aspects of TLU/IK studies and Cultural Heritage Assessments (CHA) in impact assessment to Indigenous Rights and Title, and Treaty-Related Measures. Past work completed on behalf of Nations includes TLU/IK studies and CHA prompted by proposed mining, oil and gas, forestry, and infrastructure projects throughout the colonial bounds of BC, AB, and NWT. We're experienced in the following areas:

• Mentoring and training junior researchers and community assistants;
• TLU site mapping conventions and best practices (both hard copy and GIS format);
• Elder and Knowledge Keeper interviewing; 
• Audio interview transcriptions;
• Archival research (Hudsons' Bay Company Journals, historical settler/colonial accounts; ethnographic research); 
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review;
• Reporting. 

Sipu to Stalo Consulting is honoured to collaborate with Indigenous communities to create decolonized, safe spaces for meaningful engagement with Elders and Knowledge Keepers. We take care to facilitate culturally-appropriate events with our Indigenous partners, and sub-contract to Indigenous service providers whenever feasible. Elder and Knowledge Keeper gifts are always sourced first from Indigenous makers throughout the colonial bounds of BC; and second, from local makers. 

Most recently, Sipu to Stalo Consulting has worked closely with PGL Environmental to support the Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association (SSIGA) with building an Indigenous-led Cumulative Effects Assessment (IL-CEA) framework and methodology.

Working alongside Indigenous communities and environmental consulting partners, we support the decolonization of research methods within impact assessment processes. Sipu to Stalo Consulting grounds its research methodologies in Indigenous Knowledge and the unique protocols and Interests of our Indigenous partners. Sipu to Stalo is actively collaborating with the SSIGA, and PGL Environmental to transform current environmental regulatory processes to re-centre Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being, Doing, and Valuing. Our work aims to disrupt current western impact assessment frameworks and re-Indigenize impact assessment processes. 

We work alongside Indigenous film makers to document Indigenous Knowledge for community and future generations. We capture the stories and lived experiences of Knowledge Keepers, significant places, and the important works of Indigenous Guardians out on the lands and waters.  

The cultural significance of Guardians cannot be understated-Guardians are the conduit between Elders and the next generations of Indigenous youth. We support Indigenous Guardians through mentorship in the areas of interviewing Knowledge Keepers, TLU site mapping, and community capacity building initiatives.